brushing teeth...what do you prefer?

I wanted to start brushing Ben's teeth while he is still young. He lets me touch his gums & loves when we brush our teeth. Do you use a toothbrush for animals or the finger brushes? What about the paste? I was looking at petmeds and they have poultry paste & the finger brushes.

Starting while he's young is a great idea. It sounds like you're off to a good start if he's okay with you touching his gums. I find it easier to use the finger brushes, so maybe give that a try and see how it works. The first time I looked for toothpaste, the pet store I went to only had mint-flavoured toothpaste for animals. I thought I'd give it a try anyway, but they definitely prefer the meat-flavoured kind. I'm not sure why companies would even try making mint-flavoured toothpaste for cats. Anyway, it might take a bit of patience, but hopefully the benefits will be worth it. My cats still don't really like the process but they have certainly become more tolerant of it over time.

The CET Mini Toothbrush (http://www.cetdental.com/brushing_products.asp) is my favorite. It is tiny & fits over your finger, so it helps the cat make a smoother transition from just your finger in his mouth to finger & brush. My crew's favorite flavor of toothpaste is the CET Seafood - once I added that, it converted my boy cat to toothbrushing-fiend pretty much immediately. His sister, however, is still not sure

I was pretty skeptical about tooth brushing, but now I'm completely sold on it!
Cleo is 6 1/2 years old and has had CRF for her whole life (vet diagnosed her at 6 months old, when she did pre-op blood work for her spay surgery.) About a year ago, at one of her check-ups, my vet noticed quite a bit of plaque buildup and markedly reddened gums. Dr. Sue doesn't want to put Cleo under anesthesia for a dental due to her CRF. I decided to try brushing her teeth to see if it made any difference. I purchased the CET poultry flavor toothpaste and just rub a little on her teeth with my finger. After a month of daily use, I was able to chip off the plaque with my finger nail and the reddness has completely disappeared. Actually, all three of my girls love the taste of the toothpaste and behave like toothbrushing time is treat time! Cleo's teeth look great and Dr. Sue was pretty impressed with the improvement too. I've never tried the brushes, but I've had great results just using the tip of my finger. Maybe I'll try one of those fingertip brushes and see if it makes more of a difference.


Pookie & the girls

raven likes malt toothpaste. he has a Hartz electric toothbrush. he chews on it after licking some toothpaste. he's the only one of mine who likes having his teeth brushed.